The Bank of Japan raised its benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points to 1% on June 16, concluding a two-day policy meeting with a decision that pushes borrowing costs to their highest level since 1995. Bitcoin’s response was something close to a shrug.
The world’s third-largest economy just made its boldest monetary tightening move in three decades. Bitcoin drifted from roughly $65,600 to $66,000 in the hours after the announcement.
What the BOJ actually did
The rate hike passed on a 7-1 vote, with the lone dissenter flagging concerns about downside risks to Japan’s economic growth. The decision was driven primarily by inflation worries tied to energy prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
This marks the BOJ’s first rate increase since December 2025, when it moved to 0.75%. The broader normalization campaign began in 2024, when Japan finally ended its experiment with negative interest rates.
